Will County, Illinois
Will County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. This county is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of 2000, the population was 502,266. In the 2010 U.S. Census, the population is 677,560, making it one of the fastest growing counties in the United States. The county seat of Will County is Joliet, Illinois. The portion of Will County around Joliet uses the 815 and 779 area codes, 630 and 331 area code for far northern Will County, and 708 area code for eastern Will County. History Will County was formed in 1836 out of Cook, Iroquois and Vermilion Counties. It was named after Dr. Conrad Will, a businessman involved in salt production in southern Illinois, and also a politician."Was Dr. Conrad Will really worth his salt?", Ledger-Sentinel, Roger Matile, June 22, 2006 (At that time, the law allowed slaves to be leased from other states and used in the free state of Illinois only for salt production.) Will was a member of the first Illinois Constitutional Convention and a member of the Illinois Legislature until his death in 1835. On January 12, 1836, Will County was formed from Cook County and Iroquois County. It included besides its present area, the part of Kankakee County, Illinois lying north of the Kankakee River. Will County lost that area when Kankakee County was organized in 1852, but since then its boundaries have been unchanged. . It is intersected by the Kankakee and Des Plaines Rivers, branches of the Illinois. The surface is generally level, and destitute of timber, excepting small groves. The soil is very fertile, and much of it is under cultivation. The soil of the prairies is a deep, sandy loam, adapted to Indian corn and grass. In 1850 the county produced 527,903 bushels of Indian corn; 230,885 of wheat; 334,360 of oats; 32,043 tons of hay, and 319,054 pounds of butter. It contained 14 churches, 3 newspaper offices; 3472 pupils attending public schools, and 200 attending other schools. Quarries of building stone are worked near the county seat. The Des Plaines river furnishes water-power. The county is intersected by the Illinois and Michigan canal, by the Chicago branch of the Central railroad, the Chicago and Mississippi, and by the Chicago and Rock Island railroad. Named in honor of Conrad Will, for many years a member of the Illinois legislature. Capital, Joliet. Population, 16,703." |source = — 1854 U.S. Gazetteer }} File:Will County Illinois 1836.png|Will County from its 1836 creation to 1852 File:Will County Illinois 1853.png|Will County in 1853, reduced to its current borders by the creation of Kankakee County Geography According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 98.53%) is land and (or 1.47%) is water. The Kankakee River, Du Page River and the Des Plaines River run through the county and join on its western border. The Illinois and Michigan Canal and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal run through Will County. A number of areas are preserved as parks (over total) under the Forest Preserve District of Will County. The 17,000 acre (69 km²) Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie is a U.S. Forest Service park in the county on the grounds of the former Joliet Arsenal. Other parks include Channahon State Park and the Des Plaines Fish and Wildlife Area. Major highways * Interstate 55 * Interstate 57 * Interstate 80 * Interstate 355 * U.S. Route 6 * U.S. Highway 30 * U.S. Highway 45 * U.S. Highway 52 * Illinois Route 1 * Illinois Route 7 * Illinois Route 43 * Illinois Route 50 * Illinois Route 53 * Illinois Route 59 * Illinois Route 102 * Illinois Route 113 * Illinois Route 126 * Illinois Route 129 * Illinois Route 171 * Illinois Route 394 Adjacent counties *DuPage County (north) *Cook County (northeast) *Lake County, Indiana (east) *Kankakee County (south) *Grundy County (southwest) *Kendall County (west) *Kane County (northwest) Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 502,266 people, 167,542 households, and 131,017 families residing in the county. The population density was 600 people per square mile (232/km²). There were 175,524 housing units at an average density of 210 per square mile (81/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 81.83% White, 10.45% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 2.21% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 3.63% from other races, and 1.63% from two or more races. 8.71% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 18.1% were of German, 12.8% Irish, 10.1% Polish and 9.8% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000. There were 167,542 households out of which 42.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.80% were married couples living together, 9.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.80% were non-families. 17.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.36. In the county the population was spread out with 30.00% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 32.90% from 25 to 44, 20.60% from 45 to 64, and 8.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 99.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $62,238, and the median income for a family was $69,608 (these figures had risen to $73,159 and $82,082 respectively as of a 2007 estimate ). Males had a median income of $50,152 versus $31,345 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,613. About 3.40% of families and 4.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.60% of those under age 18 and 5.50% of those age 65 or over. Government Will County is governed via a 27 member county board who are elected from one of 9 wards. Each ward elects 3 members. The County Executive, County Clerk, Coroner, Auditor, Treasurer, Recorder of Deeds and Sheriff are all elected in a countywide vote. Townships Will County is divided into these townships: * Channahon * Crete * Custer * DuPage * Florence * Frankfort * Green Garden * Homer * Jackson * Joliet * Lockport * Manhattan * Monee * New Lenox * Peotone * Plainfield * Reed * Troy * Washington * Wesley * Wheatland * Will * Wilmington * Wilton Municipalities *Aurora - partly in DuPage, Kane, and Kendall County *Beecher *Bolingbrook - small sections in DuPage and Cook County *Braidwood *Channahon *Coal City - primarily in Grundy County, very small parcel in Will County *Crest Hill *Crete *Diamond - primarily in Grundy County, very small parcel in Will County *Elwood *Frankfort *Godley - small section in Grundy County *Homer Glen *Joliet - small section in Kendall County *Lemont- primarily in Cook County, very small parcel in Will County *Lockport *Manhattan *Minooka - primarily in Grundy County and Kendall County *Mokena *Monee *Naperville - primarily in DuPage County *New Lenox *Orland Park- primarily in Cook County, very small parcel in Will County *Park Forest - primarily in Cook County *Peotone *Plainfield *Rockdale *Romeoville *Sauk Village - primarily in Cook County, very small parcel in Will County *Shorewood *Steger - partly in Cook County *Symerton *Tinley Park - primarily in Cook County *University Park - partly in Cook County *Wilmington *Woodridge - partly in DuPage and a small parcel in Cook County Unincorporated areas *Andres *Crystal Lawns *Pue *Fairmont *Frankfort Square *Goodings Grove *Goodenow *Ingalls Park *Lakewood Shores *Preston Heights *Ridgewood *Willowbrook - not to be confused with the Village of Willowbrook, Illinois. *Wilton Center Higher Education *Governors State University is a 6,000-student two-year Junior/Senior public university located in University Park, Illinois. *Lewis University is a 5,200-student four-year private university located in Romeoville, Illinois. *University of St. Francis is a 3,300-student four-year private university located in Joliet, Illinois. *Rasmussen College - Romeoville / Joliet is a private, 4 year, regionally accredited online college with support campuses. *The county is in Community College District 525 and is served by Joliet Junior College in Joliet.retrieved 2007-02-13 Joliet Junior College was the first two year higher education institution in the United States. Infrastructure The county is a major hub in the United States natural gas pipeline grid where pipelines from Canada and the Gulf of Mexico meet and then fan out to serve the Midwest. Major highways in the county include Interstate 55, Interstate 57 and Interstate 80. The Interstate 355 toll road extension has been completed and now connects with Interstate 80. Four different Metra commuter rail lines (Metra Electric Main Line, Southwest Service, Rock Island District and Heritage Corridor) connect the parts of the county with the Chicago Loop. Historic sites The following sites are on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Will County, Illinois: Climate and weather }} In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Joliet have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in July. References * External links *Official Will County Website *Official Will County Board Website *Will County Republican Central Committee *Will County Democratic Organization *Will County Green Party *Will County Libertarian Party Category:Counties of Illinois Category:Established in 1836 Category:Will County, Illinois Category:Chicago metropolitan area